{"id":1155,"date":"2019-04-12T20:12:34","date_gmt":"2019-04-12T20:12:34","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/ds.guilford.edu\/classes\/english\/228-2019s\/?p=1155"},"modified":"2019-04-12T20:13:29","modified_gmt":"2019-04-12T20:13:29","slug":"lonesome-dreams","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ds.guilford.edu\/classes\/english\/228-2019s\/uncategorized\/lonesome-dreams\/","title":{"rendered":"Lonesome Dreams"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

I\nland on a wooded path, miles away from home. I chase the sunlight mile after\nmile, through the wind-swept pines and the darkening oaks. Not a soul in sight except\nthe one within me. The patches of blooming trout lilies are long behind me,\nwhat lies ahead remains a mystery. Tory\u2019s Den is beyond my wanderings, a place\nof unknown qualities and hidden secrets. As I approach the trailhead from Moore\u2019s\nKnob, something draws me closer. Perhaps it is the promise of the unfamiliar, or\nthe devout dedication of the wanderer to push pass their boundaries. I am drawn\nto the trail as an insect is to light, hopefully without the same outcome. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Tory’s Den trailhead – 4\/11\/19<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Tory\u2019s Den is the outermost destination within the Hanging Rock trail system. Given the appeal of the partially paved titular destination, Tory\u2019s Den is likely unpopulated by most park visitors, especially during the week. As expected, the trail remained my own for quite some time. I passed along serpentine switchbacks until I crested a peak topped with groves of mountain laurel and Virginia pines. From there the trail descended as sharply as a kitchen knife, forcing me to push weight onto my heels in order to stop myself from tumbling forward. It was here I began to doubt if I could complete this trek. I notice the sun hanging lower in the west, still plenty of light left but definitely leaning heavy towards the evening sky. My food and water would last many miles more, but would my mind? Would the worry of my return prevent my enjoyment of the journey? I can sing these songs as long as I please, but nothing will drive me forward except my own two feet. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Part of a coyote tail (so I think) – 4\/11\/19<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Unlike\nthe \u2018walls\u2019, \u2018knobs\u2019, or \u2018rocks\u2019 that categorize nearly all major attractions\nat Hanging Rock, Tory\u2019s Den is the only one of its kind. The cave is nestled in\na shallow outcropping near the park\u2019s northern border, approximately 35 feet\ndeep and 20 feet high. Quartzite has been worn away in jagged shelfs that could\nbe briefly scaled if need be. As I quickly discovered, the cave is currently home\nto gigantic mosquitos and numerous black moths. But that\u2019s not who originally\nlived here. During the American Revolution, Stokes County was located near the\nwestern front of the thirteen colonies. British and American forces fought no\nmajor battles here, but neighbors often clashed over which side deserved their\nallegiance. One such skirmish occurred between the Whigs, English colonists who\nwanted independence from Great Britain, and the Tories, colonists who remained\nloyal to the British Crown. At the start of the war, the Whigs seized land and\nproperty in Stokes County held by the Tories and forced them into the wilderness.\nOutmanned and outgunned, about 100 Tories settled in this cave near the future Hanging\nRock State Park.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Tory’s Den – 4\/11\/19<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

In 1778, a group of Tories raided Whig Colonel John Martin\u2019s \u2018rock house\u2019 and supposedly kidnapped his daughter for ransom. By dawn, Martin had rallied a group of Whigs and attacked the \u2018Den.\u2019 Taking the Tories by surprise, Martin took most of them prisoner in retribution for taking his daughter. Once the war ended in 1783, Congress passed a law that would return any unsold Tory lands to their original owners only if they would sign their allegiance to the flag of the United States. Since that fateful day, the cave has been known as \u201cTory\u2019s Den.\u201d With a resonating waterfall a few paces to the west, the cave provides adequate shelter for any creature passing its way. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Nestled within Tory’s Den – 4\/11\/19<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The strenuous journey has left me weary and famished, and much like the Tories, I will too call this place home for a fragmented moment in time. Just until my water and food run low. Here, it just the rocks, and the trees, and my lonesome dreams that will fill this cave up once again. Huddled low, I stare out into the boundless forest dreaming of tomorrow and the eternal promise it holds.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“I feel I should know this place, as the road winds on into wide open space”<\/p><\/blockquote>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

I land on a wooded path, miles away from home. I chase the sunlight mile after mile, through the wind-swept pines and the darkening oaks. Not a soul in sight except the one within me. The patches of blooming trout lilies are long behind me, what lies ahead remains a mystery. Tory\u2019s Den is beyond … Continue reading “Lonesome Dreams”<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1155","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/ds.guilford.edu\/classes\/english\/228-2019s\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1155","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/ds.guilford.edu\/classes\/english\/228-2019s\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/ds.guilford.edu\/classes\/english\/228-2019s\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ds.guilford.edu\/classes\/english\/228-2019s\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ds.guilford.edu\/classes\/english\/228-2019s\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1155"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/ds.guilford.edu\/classes\/english\/228-2019s\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1155\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1161,"href":"https:\/\/ds.guilford.edu\/classes\/english\/228-2019s\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1155\/revisions\/1161"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/ds.guilford.edu\/classes\/english\/228-2019s\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1155"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ds.guilford.edu\/classes\/english\/228-2019s\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1155"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ds.guilford.edu\/classes\/english\/228-2019s\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1155"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}